Lost in translation

1.

2. Brainstorming Stating problem 1

• Pronunciation (articulation, word
stress, sentence stress)

3. Misunderstanding 1 Articulation

• Mary is merry ‘cause she’s going to marry.
• I hear that here you’ve got an old bearded
bear who likes beer and a lop-eared hare
with a mop of ginger hair. (Homophones)
• A girl with two plaits and plump cheeks
brought a plate of plums and a chick.

4. Misunderstanding 1 Homographs

Sew
Sew
Sue

5. Misunderstanding 1 Homographs

• She lives in poverty.
She even doesn’t
have a penny make
ends meet.
• He’s going to conduct
experiments with live
animals. I think that
it’s bad.
• Она живет в нищете.
Она даже не имеет
ни гроша, чтобы
свести концы с
концами.
• Он собирается
проводить
эксперименты с
живыми животными.
Я думаю, это
плохо.

6. Misunderstanding 1 Homographs

• Why did you tear
down the notice?
You have nothing to
do, don’t you?
• They burst into
tears when they
heard that their
daughter was no
longer alive.
• Почему ты сорвал
объявление? Тебе
что нечего делать,
да?
• Они залились
слезами, когда
услышали, что их
дочери больше нет
на этом свете.

7. Misunderstanding 1 Homographs

• I like this amazing
row of apple trees.
• Stop rowing with
each other! The
baby will hear.
• Мне нравится этот
красивый ряд
яблочных
деревьев.
• Перестаньте
ссориться друг с
другом. Ребенок
услышит.

8. Misunderstanding 1 Homographs

• Why do you draw a
bow? Do you want
to kill them?
• I gave him a bow
and went away.
• Почему ты
натягиваешь лук?
Ты хочешь их
убить?
• Я поклонилась ему
и ушла.

9. Misunderstanding 2 Syllable division

• Перевозить стоящих пассажиров
запрещается!
• Вам там не холодно под люком?
• (Joe Dassin’s song) … l’équipe à Jojo
• One must have a name / an aim.
• They lived in a nice house / an ice
house.

10. Brainstorming Stating problem 2

• Did you miss me?

11. Translation pitfalls

12.

13.

toCharlie
get into a
good
Dicksituation
again, after
having problems
I see you landed on your feet.
Actually, Charlie, I landed on my ass.
Then, when I fell off my ass,
I had no place to go but my feet.
Mildred
Dick ???
Rubber
Jane
Charlie
Mildred
Dick
Jane
Charlie
(AE) (not polite)
What line are you
in?
fall down
the part of your
(on/in)
Robber.
body that you sit
As in tires and erasers. on
That's a good field.
Do you make it or sell it?
Steal it.
Like stealing candy from a baby.
He is so modest.
Steel. Hey, there's a solid industry.
Mildred
I thought he said rubber.

14. Fun with Dick and Jane (1977) episode translation

15. Faux amis

Датский
Аспирант
Бриллиант
Фабрика
Бланк
Реплика
Вельветовый
Продукция
Адвокат
Батон
Dutch / Danish
aspirant / post-graduate
brilliant / diamond
fabric / factory
blank / form
replica / remark
velvet / velveteen
production / products
advocate / lawyer
baton / loaf

16. Lost in translation

• A bare conductor ran on the wall – По стене бегал
голый проводник ??? (computer translation)
• (Gone with the Wind) “Если честно, моя дорогая,
мне наплевать (spit / not give a damn /
expectorate)”
• (The Godfather) “Я сделаю ему предложение
(proposal / sentence / motion / offer / proposition),
от которого он не сможет отказаться”
• (James Bond) “Мартини. Взболтать (rock / shake /
chat), не перемешивая (mix / stir / confuse)”

17. Brainstorming: Stating problem 3 with George Carlin

18. SOFT LANGUAGE

toilet paper
sneakers
Information
dump
bathroom tissue
running shoes
Directory Assistance
landfill

19. SOFT LANGUAGE

• car crash
• house trailer
• used car
• automobile accident
• mobile home
• previously owned
transportation
• partly clouded • partly sunny

20. SOFT LANGUAGE

die
kill
lie
radiation
pass away
neutralize
disinformation
sunshine units

21. SOFT LANGUAGE

• blind
• old
• ugly
• cripple
• partially sighted
• senior citizen
• with severe appearance
deficit
• physically challenged /
differently abled

22. SOFT LANGUAGE

• be broke
• poor people
live in slums
• have negative cash
flow position
• economically
disadvantaged occupy
substandard houses in
the inner city

23. Brainstorming Stating problem 4

• 'American brokers, under competitive
pressure back home that is driving
down profit margins, are being drawn
to the lucrative potential of Europe,
where the idea of a discount broker is
still rather novel,' said Stephen
Eckett, the author of Investing
Online, a guide to Internet
investments.

24.

• While leading multiples stock mainly
the mass market, volume selling midi
systems which became popular in the
early 1980s, Richer Sounds sells only
hi-fi separates such as tuners and
amplifiers.

25.

• Thanks to the California-based retail
firm’s outdoor clothing catalog and its
exemplary method of communicating
its corporate environmentalism,
customers are not only knowledgeable
about the company's environmental
progress, they are loyal, too.

26. Grammar

• The government
have made the
right decision.
• I just called to say
I love you…
• I suggested he rent
a car.
• The government has
made the right
decision.
• I’ve just called to
say I love you…
• I suggested (that)
he should rent a
car.

27. Grammar

• He must know the truth. I see no
reasons to keep it in secret.
• Look at him, he is all smiles. He must
know the truth.

28. Grammar

• I didn’t need to get
up early yesterday.
The first class was
cancelled.
• You needn’t have
taken the umbrella.
The forecast says
nothing about it.
• Did I get up early?
• No, I didn’t.
• Did he / she take
the umbrella?
• Yes, he / she did.

29. Brainstorming Stating problem 5

30. BE vs. AE

Colour / color
Defence / defense
Centre / center
Realise / realize
Programme / program
In / on the street
Fill in / out the form
08.06.17 – June, 8 / August, 6

31. BE vs. AE

chips
• French fries (AE)
chips
• crisps (BE)

32. BE vs. AE

jelly
jelly
• jam (BE)

33. BE vs. AE

pickle
pickle

34. BE vs. AE

lemonade
fizzy drink flavoured
with lemons
lemonade
still drink made
with lemons

35. BE vs. AE

subway
• pedestrian
underpass (AE)
subway
• underground (BE)

36. BE vs. AE

pavement
• sidewalk (AE)
pavement

37. BE vs. AE

first floor
first floor
floor above
street level
floor at street level

38. BE vs. AE

pants
pants

39. BE vs. AE

bill
bill
• banknote (BE)

40. BE vs. AE

rubber
• eraser (AE)
rubber

41. BE vs. AE

• Your business is going a bomb.
• An 18th century Englishman was
puzzled when his American cousin
wrote: "The cellar in our new house
was dug by a bee in a single day".
• bee —joint effort (Am.).

42. BE vs. AE

• An American college teacher was
speaking to a British teacher and
remarked that at his college, male
and female undergraduates now sleep
in the same dormitory. "Ye gods!" said
the Englishman.
• dormitory — Am. hostel, Br. room
where people sleep.

43. BE vs. AE

• When during WWII the American
pilots took over a famous girls'
boarding school, they found next to
every bed a button and a notice
saying: "If you want a mistress during
the night, ring the bell".
• mistress — in British English a
member of the teaching staff in a
girl's school.

44. BE vs. AE

• Philip French recalled in a New
Statesman article that he once
suggested to his American hostess
that he helps her wash up, and was
met with a startled look.
• wash up — in American English to
wash oneself, not the dishes.